Profile
Alyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress and former singer. Her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom 'Who's the Boss?' made her famous, and an eight-year stint as Phoebe Halliwell on the supernatural series Charmed brought her a new round of fame.
Alyssa is the daughter of Italian-American parents: Lin, a fashion designer and talent manager, and Thomas M. Milano, a film music editor and boating enthusiast. She has a younger brother, Cory (born in 1982), who is also an actor. In a 2003 interview, Milano recalled having had a good childhood, having grown up in a "loving, true family."
Although born and raised in Brooklyn, Milano had trouble getting this accent, because she worked to lose it to land more roles in the theater, including in a stage adaption of Jane Eyre. By the late 1980s, Milano was established as a teen idol, appearing in made-for-television teen films such as Crash Course and Dance 'til Dawn (both 1988). Both projects allowed her to work alongside close personal friend Brian Bloom. This working comradere would later expand in 1993 when Milano guest starred in Brian's series 'The Webbers'. She produced a teen workout video in 1988 called Teen Steam and achieved some fame outside the USA with her music career, which lasted until the early 1990s. In 1991, Milano wanted to quit acting to pursue an academic career, but was unable to gain release from her contract.
When her role on Who's the Boss ended in 1992, Milano feared having trouble to obtaining other roles, aware of the fate of many grown-up child stars in that period. Nevertheless, she was excited when she found out the show was cancelled, being ready "to move on." Milano tried to shed her "nice girl" image by appearing in several films targeted at adults, such as Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story (1993), Embrace of the Vampire (1994), Deadly Sins (1995), and Poison Ivy II: Lily (1996), where she starred opposite Johnathon Schaech and Xander Berkeley.
The transition started in 1992, when Milano auditioned for female lead as a homeless teenager in the independent film Where the Day Takes You. Although the crew was reluctant to sign a former child star, she was given a small role as a prostitute in the production. She was noticed by the media, that helped her land the controversial role of Amy Fisher in the high profile TV movie Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story.
Despite the milestone, Milano was soon out of work and after a period of six months, she decided to return to television. She portrayed bad girl Jennifer Mancini on Melrose Place, Meg Winston in Spin City, and most notably as Phoebe Halliwell on the eight-year run of the popular hit tv series Charmed . The stint garned her new fame and she was named the most successful and popular actress on the primetime soap, alongside Heather Locklear.
Milano is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and writes a regular baseball blog on the Major League Baseball's website. In 2007, Milano launched her signature 'Touch' line of team apparel for female baseball fans, selling it through her blog and Major League Baseball's website. It also became available in 2009 through a boutique store located in Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets.
She has eight tattoos on her body: one on each wrist and ankle, shoulder, neck, hip, and lower back. Milano is a vegetarian and appears in numerous PETA advertising campaigns for vegetarianism. Outside of acting, her hobbies include photography, humanitarian work, and spending time with her three dogs and eight horses.
She dated actor Corey Haim from 1987 to 1990 and was engaged to Scott Wolf in 1993. She was married to singer, songwriter Cinjun Tate of Remy Zero in 1999; they were divorced later that year. She also dated Charmed co-star Brian Krause and Justin Timberlake for a while. After one year of dating, she and CAA agent David Bugliari were engaged December 18, 2008. Milano and Bugliari married on August 15, 2009 in New Jersey, at the home of Bugliari's family.
